A Note To Potential Film Composers

Writing film music - scores - is a different area of competency than writing instrumental pieces. If they're written well, or poorly, is not for me to judge in this context.

I will be direct: it's impossible to be a serious film composer if it's only a side job. And sorry, surely you cannot make a Hollywood score with, as Hans Zimmer promises you on his YouTube ads, just an iPad. If only!

The more money you have in your budget, the more you can specialize in just composing music. But on independent (and sometimes not-so-independent) film projects, this is the personal experience I'd like to share:

It's really only 30% about being able to write (film) music quickly in support of the images, in any genre required, without losing your personal touch. (As a side note, if someone wants your music to sound like generic stock music, or like someone else's music, let them use that, or hire that other composer. Apparently they aren't in need of your services.)

Again, I don't generally mean mono-form, copy-and-paste, looped patterns (stock-like background music) when I use the term Film Music or Score. Said background music is just songwriting (even if it's instrumental). That's why distinct credits exist for Original Score, additional songs, etc. And remember: music is not sound design and sound design is not music at all! Many directors themselves aren't even aware of this, so none of us should feel bad when they ask us to write 30 minutes of synth drones with 5 piano notes on top and mix it really low. Just be clear from the start what it is you do as a professional film composer if they plan to hire you.

Another 10% is being able to work with computers, know the necessary technical jargon, and successfully execute an impeccable product regardless of your available budget, because no one in the audience (or for that matter, a potential business partner in the audience) really cares how much they paid you - or if they paid you at all - when they watch the movie. It's going to be your name on the screen credits, so do your best to make a great product - or at least not to embarrass yourself! Decide on your own personal standard for sound, and never undercut that. It's better to tend to outdo yourself than to disappoint.

Another 10% is being a sound engineer and music editor, the latter especially when directors can't seem to decide on a final cut before you begin to to write and produce the score. 

10% is being a versatile orchestrator, arranger, and solid conductor, plus a painfully fast copyist. 

The other 40% is business, networking, and marketing. (There's no way around this at all until you get an agent who can help you.) No one will know about your work if you don't promote it. 

Sometimes you'll need to work in multiple languages, so try your best to learn to speak something other than your native language, if you can! Making an effort to learn foreign languages is a sure sign of respect for your fellow humans.

All of the above (except the solitary, intimate, creative, supremely easy part: the actual composing, which you can do however you want until the first round of changes), ideally, has to be done with the calmness of a psychiatrist and the grace of a diplomat - even in the face of conflicting cultural norms and nasty political mechanisms. Know when you can let your temper show, and when it's better to just suck it up! Balancing yourself in your communication with the team is an important lesson to learn. Don't be an asshole, but don't be a doormat, either!

Most of the painstaking details you work on, whether musical or technical, will probably earn you absolutely zero recognition or praise, so be serene in the knowledge that at only you can and will know the amount of time and sacrifice that your work entails. Learn to feel proud of yourself without needing constant affirmation from others, for they will continue to be unaware of your sacrifices. If not, you will begin to seethe with resentment for those who judge your work without a trace of empathy. I've found this to be the case in life in general.

Maybe you've invested 30,000€ over the years in sounds and equipment to be able to work as a film composer but the producer pays everyone in the post-production chain but you. You have to decide for yourself what project is worth your time and investment. You may choose to pay fellow professional performers out of your own pocket out of respect for the work they put in to playing your compositions to improve the end product, and as a result, you may not have money left for your own groceries. Those musicians won't actually know this, and they may even complain about the uncomfortable headphones or un-sharpened pencils or whatever. It's not their fault, this was your choice. Just smile quietly inside and know your score will be good. (My favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption.)

I have been so broke that I couldn't afford to buy myself a coffee at the first meeting I had with a director - at times I didn't even have the money to get to an actual café on the subway. And I've arrived at meetings in this sorry financial state, and they have said to me, sadly, there's almost no budget left for the music. And - I wrote their score anyway. Because it's my job. I love composing. And let's be honest: without IMDb credits we are "nobodies." (Luckily those days are now in the past.)

Well-paid for a terrible film? Or unpaid for a fantastic one? Suffering with a shoestring budget? This is a choice only you must make, thinking of the long- and short-term effects on your career of working under price, or even on films of questionable artistic merit. Sometimes it's better to put less money in your pocket and not deliver a crappy MIDI score if it's a good indie movie that could go places. Sometimes you just need the money you get for a certain project, and maybe there are some good actors in the movie - or even a talented director is at the helm. Think of the ways you can promote the music to your advantage - but be clear to yourself about financial limits you're willing to accept before you start writing.

My composing partner and I have reached out to over 7500 (!) producers, directors looking for composing opportunities in the past 2 years since we started up our company, The Villa Studios Praia a Mare. Maybe 5 in 500 respond, 3 positively, and 1 with paid work. Some ignore you until they see you've won a couple of awards or actually take the time to listen to a demo. One director blocked us on Facebook. Whatever! Some of these contacts have become some of our best friends and valued collaborators. Some colleagues, on the other hand, have asked to network with us on LinkedIn and subsequently raided our hard-won contact lists looking for potential collaborators, but it's really ok by us in the end, because we think our music is something unique. There's space for us all.

We now have a great agent, so things are looking up in the coming months.

This is the path we've chosen to take, and slowly it's beginning to pay off, but it takes a tremendous amount of energy, discipline, and endurance. 

So, this is my personal experience as an independent film composer. These are the thoughts that come to mind as I listen to the music that some aspiring artists send me who may still be composers as a side job, or by those who use their sequencers in their iPads or MacBooks to write beats and/or orchestral pieces, asking if I can help them or give them an opinion - or even collaborate. 

Consider this message as a way to help you understand that being a professional film composer means being an expert in many things beyond programming sounds and drum patterns on your laptop. The best sounds money can buy are no good if you don't put effort into using them better than the other thousands of people who bought them. So educate yourself and practice hard.

It's really not impossible to be a film composer, but it does take time, study, dedication, perseverance, and sacrifice.......!

Best wishes,

Susan

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